About Inglesina 

Founded in Vicenza, Italy in 1963 by Liviano Tomasi, Inglesina has a rich heritage going back over 60 years, as well as a well-established reputation for dedication to baby’s comfort and wellbeing. Every aspect of Inglesina’s prams, strollers, car seats and accessories are carefully designed with little ones in mind. From luxury, breathable fabrics, down to the patented Welcome Pad mattress, Inglesina’s products support babies as they grow. Its award-winning range offers premium Italian style, incredible comfort and practical design perfect for modern family life.  For more information about the history of Inglesina, please click here.

History of Maclaren

It all started in 1936 in Southampton, on the southern coast of England. At the time, Southampton was known for two things: its busy port, where major transatlantic ships set sail, and Southampton Airport, a key military airfield.

On March 5, 1936, the Spitfire took off for the first time from this very airport. The Spitfire would go on to play a crucial role in World War II, becoming a symbol of British victory against the Germans. It was a technological marvel, and the person responsible for leading its design was Reginald Mitchell, a brilliant aeronautical engineer. Alongside him, a team of the brightest engineers in the UK worked on the aircraft.  Among these engineers was a 30-year-old from Essex named Owen Maclaren, who had graduated from Cambridge. Owen was tasked with designing the landing gear of the Spitfire, a key element that gave the aircraft incredible maneuverability. His design allowed the landing gear to retract smoothly during flight and made the plane agile both in the air and on the ground. It was considered, as Mitchell later said, “a little masterpiece within the masterpiece.”

After the war, Owen got married and had a daughter named Janet. Janet eventually married an American executive from PanAm and moved to the United States. In the summer of 1964, Janet returned to England with her daughter to visit Owen, giving him the chance to spend time with his granddaughter. During their long walks through the English countryside, Owen noticed how difficult it was to push and maneuver the bulky strollers of the time.

Though he was retired, Owen’s inventive spirit was still alive. He began thinking about how he could improve baby strollers, imagining something lightweight and easy to carry. He envisioned a stroller that could fold up like an umbrella, which would be a completely new concept at the time. Drawing on his experience in aviation, he replaced the heavy iron tubes of traditional strollers with lightweight aluminum and used a triangular structure to provide strength and flexibility, much like in airplane design. He also added double wheels for better maneuverability, similar to what he had done for the Spitfire landing gear.

Two years later, in 1967, the first model of his stroller was produced in a small factory in Northamptonshire. This was the B-01, the world’s first umbrella stroller. It was an immediate hit, quickly becoming popular worldwide. By the end of the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of these strollers were being sold each year, seen everywhere from the streets of London to Paris and New York.

This revolutionary stroller became a symbol in itself, and so did its creator: Owen Finlay Maclaren. The Maclaren name became synonymous with the umbrella stroller, an invention born out of a brilliant mind and a desire to make life easier for parents everywhere.